Exotic Rides: Galmer Arbitrage GT

The verdict

Performance cars are sometimes more beast than beauty. This is one of those cars. With a reported emphasis on light weight and a proven screamer of an engine, there’s little doubt the Galmer Arbitage GT will be wicked quick. We just have a few reservations about its desirability and ability to generate envy from others.

Luxury score: 44

The practical ride

We’re told the Galmer Arbitrage GT is going to be ever-ready to go from Clark Kent to Superman, or vice versa. Part of that will depend on the smoothness of the transmission and ride settings. As for the engine, we already know the LS7 can burble around town all day at vanilla speeds, so that’s a good sign. Beyond that, we foresee the car no easier or tougher to wrangle than the average insanely powered car. If anything, much of the difficulty will come from the driver’s own temptations.

Viewing your rearward surroundings in most mid-engine cars is often pointless and limits their practicality, but the aforementioned camera option in the Arbitage GT helps to address this. It will take some getting used to, but it’s better than blind faith. Another typical mid-engine drawback is room to carry more than a pack of cigarettes. We have no reason to believe this car will be any different, so you’ll be faced with a quandary of packing light or taking a passenger along for weekend trips.

From a long-term relationship standpoint, we have some reservations about the Arbitage GT. Yes, the engine is solid and its parts are easy to find. The Galmer name suggests the car will hold up under speed, too. One big question mark, however, arises from final assembly — you either have to do it yourself or source it from a shop; hope you trust their expertise. Another uncertainty is what happens when you break something that you can’t get from your local Chevy dealer? Even if money is not an issue, will you have the patience to wait for spare parts — kit car parts, presumably from Cobra in Thailand? That brings up another point: Is a kit car really worth it? All the power on the planet won’t change that fact. And do you really want your production-car driving buddies to know you have a kit car?

This may all be negated by a great price, but we can’t quite make that call. Galmer states the Arbitage GT “will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the nearest competitor in it’s (sic) class.” Great. That’s like saying an unknown painting from a moderately-known artist “will sell at auction for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than the Mona Lisa.” Thanks, Sherlock.

The verdict

Without the cachet of an exceptionally prestigious or well-known name, the Galmer Arbitage GT’s shortcomings in practicality are amplified.

Practicality score: 28

and the total is...

We applaud Kevin Gallahan’s efforts to produce a supercar, but we’re not sure we’d buy it. On paper, it looks great: A race car developer is onboard, it’s designed to fly with one of the best engines currently in production, plus overseas manufacture and final assembly by the owner control end costs. In reality, we’re not totally sold. Even as an owner, how often will you really want to show off your car — and where? Those who don’t recognize it won’t appreciate it. Those who do recognize it will know you paid dearly for a kit car.